On 23 May 2025, the Higher Regional Court of Cologne dismissed the application by the Consumer Protection Organization of North Rhine-Westphalia seeking an injunction against Meta for training AI. Following a positive decision by the Irish Data Protection Authority, a German court has now also ruled in favour of Meta. However, the Hamburg Data Protection Commissioner remains critical.
Meta, which operates services such as Facebook and Instagram, announced in mid-2024 that it would use public posts from EU users for AI training purposes. Meta informed users that they could actively object by 27 May 2025. The announcement sparked controversial public debate. On the other hand, fundamental questions arose regarding the meaning and interpretation of European data law, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The relevant legal issues are of interest to all companies that want to use AI. The case generally concerns the permissibility of using existing data for training or improving AI – at least if it contains personal data.
Read more at Taylor Wessing.